pedophile priests

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Pope Creates New Court for Abuse Cover-Up Bishops

It will punish those who 'failed to protect their flock'

(Newser) - Pope Francis has taken the biggest step yet to crack down on bishops who cover up for priests who rape and molest children, creating a new tribunal inside the Vatican to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect their flock. The initiative has significant legal and theological implications,...

Vatican Charges Ex-Archbishop With Pedophilia

Jozef Wesolowski's arrest is first ever in Vatican for child sexual abuse

(Newser) - The Vatican arrested former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski yesterday on pedophilia charges and placed him under house arrest until trial—the first official charges within the city-state's walls for child sexual abuse, Reuters reports. It's the latest step for Pope Francis, who has a "zero tolerance" philosophy for...

Vatican: Pope Misquoted on Pedophile Cardinals

And he didn't say he'd 'find solution' to celibacy

(Newser) - Pope Francis has made headlines around the world with an interview in which he said 2% of clergy, including cardinals, are pedophiles , but the Vatican says those weren't his words—and it wasn't exactly an interview. The words attributed to the pontiff in the La Repubblica newspaper came...

In 1st, Bishop Convicted of Shielding Pedophile

Kansas City's Robert Finn gets 2 years probation

(Newser) - The first bishop in the history of the cleric child sex abuse scandal in America has been convicted of shielding a pedophile priest. Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty on one misdemeanor charge and not guilty on a second charge, for failing to report a priest who had...

Priest Says Teenage Abuse Victims Can Be Seducers

Father Groeschel apologizes, blames old age, poor health for comments

(Newser) - This inevitably wasn't going to end well: In an interview given earlier this week, a high-profile Roman Catholic leader said that the "youngsters" who are sexually abused by priests are often the instigators, and that priests who are first-time offenders should not go to prison, reports the New ...

Cops: Priest Chased Boy Down Street in Underwear

Family rescues 12-year-old

(Newser) - It's midnight, and you see a 12-year-old boy running down the street toward you, begging for help. Moments later a man follows wearing only his underwear, and beckons the boy over. Do you let the man take him? Yeah, neither did Heather Rodriguez or her brother-in-law when that happened...

Abuse Victim Cleared of Assaulting Priest

Jury refuses to convict William Lynch

(Newser) - A California man who beat up a retired Catholic priest he accused of molesting him as a child has been found not guilty of assault, despite admitting the beating on the witness stand. Jurors said none of them wanted to convict William Lynch, 44, after hearing about the alleged abuse...

Church Official Convicted of Child Endangerment

Philly monsignor shielded predators

(Newser) - A Roman Catholic church official was convicted today of child endangerment but acquitted of conspiracy in a groundbreaking clergy-abuse trial, becoming the first US church official convicted of a crime for how he handled abuse claims. Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia helped the archdiocese keep predators in ministry, and the...

Lawyer: 200 Sex Abuse Priests Hiding in California

Church needs to alert communities, says Ray Boucher

(Newser) - A stunning 200 priests suspected of committing sexual abuse are living in California, mostly unknown to communities, according to a lawyer who sued the LA Archdiocese on behalf of 500 plaintiffs, reports MSNBC . Because none of those priests was convicted of sex abuse, laws about identifying pedophiles and their locations...

Activists: Vatican Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity
Activists: Vatican Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity
FOR SEX ABUSE SCANDAL
Sep 13, 2011 7:50 AM CDT

Activists: Vatican Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity

Pope, 3 officials named as responsible for rampant sex abuse

(Newser) - In the most substantial effort yet to hold the Vatican's feet to the fire for clergy sexual abuse, human rights lawyers will file a complaint today asking the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Pope Benedict XVI and three top Vatican officials for crimes against humanity. According to...

Boston Archdiocese Lists Accused Priests

159 clerics on list; 91 others omitted

(Newser) - Nearly a decade after a sexual abuse scandal erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has released a list of 159 clerics accused of abusing children. The list was compiled using files that go back as far as 70 years, but the archdiocese has come under fire...

Vatican Releases Sex Abuse Files

Holy See denies accusations of cover-up of abusive priest in 1960s

(Newser) - The Vatican attempted to rebut claims it has been covering up sexual abuse by a priest in the United States in the 1960s by releasing files of its internal investigation on the Internet yesterday, reports the Wall Street Journal . The alleged victim filed suit against the Vatican in a federal...

Philadelphia Archbishop Retires Amid Scandal

Pope accepts Cardinal Justin Rigali's resignation

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Philadelphia archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali today, sending him into retirement as the archdiocese faces accusations that it covered up a long-running priest sex abuse scandal. The pope named conservative Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput to succeed him. The brief Vatican announcement said the resignation...

Church-Backed Study Blames '60s for Sex Abuse

Priests were ill-equipped to deal with social change, study finds

(Newser) - The Catholic Church's requirement for all priests to be celibate is not to blame for the church's sex abuse scandals, according to a study commissioned by and partially funded by America's Catholic bishops. The study concludes that most sex abuse cases involved priests trained in the '...

Vatican to Bishops: You Should Report Abusive Priests

...but we won't make you do so

(Newser) - In a letter to bishops around the world, the Vatican today stated the importance of cooperating with police in reporting sexually abusive priests—but it does not make such reporting mandatory. The AP calls the suggestions "vague" and "nonbinding," and notes that they fall short of US...

Pope John Paul II Beatification: He's No Saint, Says Maureen Dowd
 John Paul 
 Is No Saint 
Maureen Dowd
Apr 24, 2011 3:28 PM CDT

John Paul Is No Saint

Remember that whole pedophilia scandal he ignored?

(Newser) - On this Easter, Maureen Dowd turns to another resurrection of sorts next Sunday: The beatification of Pope John Paul II, or "PR boost" that Pope Benedict hopes to get from the "swiftest ascension toward sainthood on record." And while there was much to love about the "...

Philly Archdiocese Suspends 21 Priests on Sex Charges

Move follows grand jury findings last month

(Newser) - The Catholic Church in Philadelphia has put 21 priests accused of molesting minors on administrative leave, reports the Inquirer . The archdiocese removed them from ministry after a damning grand jury report last month alleged that abuse remained rampant among local priests—and that the diocese seemed more concerned about covering...

Alleged Philly Pedophile Priests Still Active

Church hasn't removed most of the 37 mentioned in grand jury report

(Newser) - Dozens of priests accused of sexual abuse are still preaching in Philadelphia, even after a scathing grand jury brought their presence to light. A grand jury last month lambasted the Philadelphia Archdiocese for keeping at least 37 priests credibly accused of improper behavior towards minors in positions that would bring...

Secret Vatican Edict: Don't Report Abusive Priests

At a later meeting, bishops told to remember they were 'not policemen'

(Newser) - The Vatican is scrambling to explain a secret 1997 edict rejecting an Irish Catholic Church proposal to report pedophile priests to the local authorities. The “strictly confidential” document, obtained by Ireland’s RTE television for a new documentary, said that reporting priests might give them grounds to appeal to...

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Files for Bankruptcy

Hit stalemate over transparency in sex abuse lawsuits

(Newser) - Overwhelmed by 23 sex abuse lawsuits, the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy yesterday. In so doing, Milwaukee followed seven other dioceses also forced into bankruptcy by the costs of litigating and settling claims against their priests for sexual abuse. The bankruptcy filing followed a failed mediation effort that...

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